Paper towel dispenser



Jan. 16, 1962 P. A. WOOSTER PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER 4 sheets-sheet 1 Filed June 23. 1.958

INVENTOR. Phi/4'0 ,4. Woosfer BY ATTORNL'YJ' Jan. 16, 1962 P. WOOSTER PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER Filed June 23, 1958 IN V EN TOR Phi/4'0 A Woosfer BY \jm W 4 r TOR/V5 Y:

Jan. 16, 1962 P. A. WOOSTER PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 23, 1958 INVENTOR. phi/40 A. Woojfer- BY 5ZLJ Jan. 16, 1962 P. A. WOOSTER PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 23, 1958 INVENTOR. Pb/Y/p 4. Woasfer" 3,017,131 PAPER TUWEL DISPENSER Philip A. Woostenim Ii t., fian Rafael, Calif. Filed June 23, 1958, Ser. "No. 743,811 4 Claims. (Cl. 242-5553) This invention relates generally to dispensers suitable for dispensing paper toweling or similar web material in roll form.

In the past a variety of mechanisms have been used in dispensers of the above type for restricting the amount of paper withdrawn in successive operations. One such dispenser employs mechanical means for limiting the length of web that can be withdrawn, together with automatic timing means whereby after a fixed time interval a short length of the paper is advanced from the dispenser cabinet for the next operation. Such an operating cycle provides a fixed time period during which the dispenser cannot be operated, and therefore it may afford annoying delays and inconveniences.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser which will limit the length of paper withdrawn in each operation, which can be operated repeatedly without intervening time delays, and which provides means for automatically advancing the web a short distance to facilitate its manual engagement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the above character which has manual means operable at the beginning of each operation to release the mechanism for withdrawal of a predetermined length of toweling, and to automatically advanc the web from the cabinet sufficiently far to facilitate its engagement.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means in a paper roll dispenser for preventing improper positioning of the roll.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail in con junction with the accompanying drawing:

Referring to the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view showing a dispenser incorporating the present invention, certain parts being shown in section.

FIGURE 2 is an end view looking toward the left hand end of FIGURE 1, with the housing being shown in section.

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the dispenser looking toward the right hand side of FIGURE 1, and with the housing being shown in section.

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged detail, taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 1, showing means for holding one end of the paper roll.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 1, showing ratchet means for preventing back rotation of the feed roller.

FIGURE 7 is a view like FIGURE 2 but showing another embodiment of the invention.

The dispenser illustrated in the drawing consists of a suitable cabinet It), which includes a back wall 11 adapted to be attached to a wall or other suitable supporting surface. The cabinet also includes the inner side walls 12, and the bottom wall 13. The cover 14 is hinged at 16, and includes the side walls 17, the top wall 18, and the front wall 19.

Suitable means is provided within the cabinet for rotatably supporting a roll 2% of paper toweling. Thus a supporting bracket 21 is provided, and consists of the side arms 22 connected by the bar or strip 23. Pivot pins 24 form pivotal connections between the side arms and the "ice side walls 12. A button-like member 26 is rotatably mounted upon the free end of one of the side arms, and seats within the paper core upon which such rolls are commonly wrapped. A similar button 27 is rotatably carried by the other arm 22, for engaging the other end of the roll. In this particular instance, the cabinet is shown provided with an adapter arm 28 which carries a similar rotatable member 29 for seating in the corresponding end of the roll.

As shown particularly in FIGURE 5, to prevent improper positioning, the roll at one end may be provided with a slot 34 adapted to accommodate a lug or wing 31 on the member 29. The paper is held against unwrapping in the upper part of the cabinet by suitable means such as the hinged plate 32, which is yieldably urged against the back side of the roll by spring 32a.

The pivotal mounting of the bracket 21 facilitates application of a roll. Thus the bracket is swung forwardly after the cabinet cover 14 has been dropped forwardly and downwardly. With the bracket in this position the roll is applied, after which the bracket and roll are swung backwardly between the side walls 12 to the general positioning shown in FIGURE 4.

Below the paper roll there is a feed roller 33. The peripheral surfaces 34 of this roller may be covered with a rubber or latex material, to provide good friction contact with the paper. Normally the paper passes over one side of the roller 33 as illustrated in FIGURE 4. The ends of the roller 33 are provided with stud shafts 36 and 37, which are journalled within the side walls 12.

Suitable means are provided for pressing the paper web against the periphery of the feed roller. For this purpose I have shown a pressure roller 38, having stud shafts 39 projecting from its ends which are loosely accommodated within the slots 41 provided in the side walls 12. Tension springs 42 engage the shafts 39, and urge the pressure roller toward the feed roller 33.

FIGURE 2 shows suitable latch means associated with the feed roller to limit rotation of the same to one revolution. This means consists of a latch arm 43 which is attached to the stud shaft 36. Adjacent the latch arm 43 there is a latch lever 44 pivotally secured to the adjacent side wall 12 by pivot pin 46. Tension spring 47 urges the latch arm in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 2 or in other words toward engaged position with respect to the latch 43. When the latch arm 44 is rocked in a counterclockwise direction, the two latch arms are disengaged whereby arm 43 is free to rotate. Assuming that the arm 43 is released, it may rotate through one revolution before again engaging the lever 44. A finger 48 is .carried by lever 44 and by its engagement with the rotating arm 43, is effective to prevent rotation of the feed roller through more than about one-half revolution, if improper operation is attempted by holding lever 44 in released position while withdrawing paper.

Manually operated means is provided for releasing the latch arm 44. For this purpose I have shown a rod 49 which has its upper end pivotally connected at 51 to the latch arm 44. The lower end of this rod forms a push button which extends loosely through an opening 52 in the bottom cabinet wall 13, whereby it is in a convenient position at one lower corner of the cabinet for movement by an operator. When upward force is applied to this rod, the lever 44 is moved upwardly, to disengage the lever 43, thus leaving the feed roller free for rotation.

Additional means is provided for automatically rotating the feed roller a part of a complete revolution, immediately following disengagement of the latch arm 43 and lever 44. This means is illustrated in FIGURE 3 and consists of a tension spring 53 having its one end anchored to the adjacent cabinet side wall 12, and its other end attached to the wheel 54. This construction in efiect forms a lever arm whereby the tension of the spring tends to rotate the feed roller when the parts are in the position shown in FIGURE 3. It may be explained that when the latch arm 43 and lever 44 are in engagement, the angular position of the feed roller is such that the spring 53 tends to rotate the feed roller in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 3, but such rotation is prevented by the engagement of the latch means. However, immediately upon release of the arm 43 and lever 44, the feed roller turns responsive to the tension of spring 53, and such rotation continues through about one-third revolution to thereby automatically feed the web and thereby extend a substantial length of paper from the cabinet.

Wheel 54 is shown provided with peripheral extensions 56, which can be manually engaged through a slot 57 at the front of the cabinet. Such manual engagement may be used to turn the feed roller, as for example, to facilitate threading the paper between the feed roller and the pressure roller, when the roll is first applied.

It will be evident that the tension spring 53 need not be applied to the Wheel 54, but may be applied to a separate lever arm, or to the latch arm 43 at the other end of the feed roller.

It is desirable to provide means to prevent back rotation of the feed roller. For this purpose I have shown a ratchet wheel 55 (FIGURE 6) which turns with the feed roller, and which is engaged by a spring pawl 61.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the bottom wall 13 of the cabinet is dimensioned to provide a slot 58 extending across the front lower edge of the cabinet, through which the paper web may pass. Disposed immediately above this slot, and on the forward side of the paper web, there is a strip 59 which is shown carried by end ears 60, that are pivotally supported from the shafts 39 at the ends of the pressure roller. When a predetermined length of paper has been withdrawn from the cabinet, the lower edge of the strip 59 is used to facilitate a manual tear off operation.

Operation of my dispenser is as follows: Normally the arm 43 and lever 44 are in engagement, and the paper terminates within the cabinet slot 58, whereby it cannot be manually engaged. When it is desired to withdraw toweling, the operator presses upwardly upon rod 49, whereby the latches 43 and 44 are disengaged, and whereby the spring 53 acts to turn the feed roller through a part of a revolution, thereby projecting a substantial length of web, as for example, about three inches. The operator then grasps the web and pulls an additional length from the cabinet, until the latch arms 43 and 44 again engage and thus prevent further rotation of the feed roller. The operator then tears ofi the paper against the lower edge of the strip 59.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 7, a different means has been provided for advancing the feed roller after its release. Thus, the feed roller has a gear 63 attached to shaft 36, and this gear meshes with a second gear 64 which is carried by the rotatable shaft 65. Arm 66, corresponding to arm 43 (FIGURE 2), rotates with gear 641 and is engaged by a latch lever 67, which corresponds to lever 44. Latch lever 67 is carried by pivot pin 68 and is urged toward engaged position by spring 67a. Finger 70 on latch lever 67 serves the same purpose as the finger 48 of the first described embodiment. Spring 69 serves the same purpose as spring 53 of FIGURE 3. Spring 71 urges the pressure roller 38 toward the feed roller 33. A tab 72 extends downwardly from the latch lever 67 and may be manually engaged to sewing the latch lever to disengaged position. In general, this lever takes the place of member 49 of FIGURES 2 and 3.

The embodiment of FIGURE 7 operates as follows: When lever 67 is manually released, spring 69 turns gear 64 a part of one revolution, as, for example, about 120. Because of the gear ratio, gear 63 and feed roller 33 are rotated a somewhat greater amount, such as about 240, to extend the paper accordingly. When the paper is pulled, gears 63 and 64 rotate to bring the arm 66 back into engagement with lever 67, and at the same time this spring 69 is retensioned for the next dispensing operation. It will be evident that with this embodiment, rollers 33 may turn through more than one revolution for each dispensing operation.

It will be understood from the foregoing that my dispensing mechanism does not provide a predetermined time interval, although it does provide for dispensing limited lengths of the paper in successive operations, and it projects a suflicient length of the paper to facilitate its engagement. Because of the absence of a fixed timing interval, the mechanism can be operated without time delay between successive operations. In addition to the foregoing, my mechanism is relatively simple in its construction and operation. It is relatively reliable in that there is little, if any, possibility of faulty operation.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser suitable for dispensing a web of paper toweling in roll form, means for rotatably supporting a paper roll, a feed roller member rotatably supported on an axis parallel to the paper roll and adjacent the same, whereby the paper web as it leaves the roll passes over one side of the feed roller member, means for pressing the web into frictional contact with the feed roller member whereby rotation of the feed roller member serves to feed the paper web from the roll, first abutment means defining a stop element attached at an end of said feed roller member for rotation therewith, latch member means movably mounted adjacent at least one end of said feed roller member and having second abutment means thereon adjacent at least one end of the feed roller member said second abutment being in the path of rotation of said stop element with said latch member means in a first position, additional abutment means on one of the members engageable with. the abutment means on the other member to limit rotation of said roller member with said latch member means in a second position wherein said second abutment means is Withdrawn from said path, resilient means urging said latch member means from said second to said first position, means including a spring operatively connected to said feed roller member whereby when the feed roller member is rotated to the position imposed by said latch member means said spring means is tensioned, said spring means serving to rotate the feed roller member a predetermined portion of said predetermined amount of rotation to advance the Web for manual engagement with said latch member means in said second position, manually operated means connected to said latch member means for moving said latch member means against the tension of said resilient means and to said second position of the same immediately before manual withdrawal of the web, and limiting means to prevent continued rotation of the feed roller member while said manually operated member is held to maintain the latch member means in its second position.

2. A paper towel dispenser comprising a cabinet, means for rotatably supporting within said cabinet a core having paper toweling wrapped thereon, a feed roller member rotatably mounted in said cabinet on an axis parallel to the core whereby the paper toweling as it leaves the roller can be passed over one side of the feed roller, a presser roller and resilient means urging said pressure roller toward said feed roller to press said toweling thereagainst, a first abutment defining a stop element attached at one end to said feed roller member for rotation therewith, a latch member movably mounted adjacent said one end of said feed roller and having a second abutment thereon in the path of rotation of said stop element when said latch member is in a first position, an additional abutment on one of said members engageable with the abutment on the other member to limit rotation of said roller member when said latch member is moved to a second position wherein said second abutment is withdrawn from said path, yieldable means urging said latch member from said second to said first position, manually operable means directly connected to said latch member and having a portion accessible from the outside of said cabinet whereby said latch member may be manually moved from said first to said second position against the action of said yieldable means, and spring means for urging said feed roller to turn through a partial revolution to engage said additional abutment with the abutment on said other member to feed a short length of toweling from said cabinet.

3. A dispenser as defined in claim 2 further including a wheel fixed adjacent one end of said feed roller and having a peripheral portion extending outwardly of said cabinet for manual actuation, and ratchet means preventing reverse rotation of said feed roller.

4. In a dispenser suitable for dispensing a web of paper toweling in roll form, means for rotatably supporting a paper roll, a feed roller rotatably supported on an axis parallel to the paper roll and adjacent the same, whereby the paper web as it leaves the roll passes over one side of the feed roller, means for pressing the web in a frictional contact with the feed roller whereby rotation of the feed roller serves to feed the paper web from the roll, latch means including a latch lever movable between engaged and released positions, means rotatable with rotation of the feed roller to engage said latch lever and thereby limit rotation of the feed roller through a predetermined amount of angular rotation in response to manual withdrawal of the web, said last named means comprising an arm adapted to engage said latch lever, means for urging the latch lever toward the engaged position of the same, means including a spring operatively connected to said feed roller whereby when the feed roller is rotated to the position enclosed by said latch means said spring means is tensioned, said spring means when said latch lever is moved to a released position serving to rotate the feed roller a predetermined portion of said predetermined amount of rotation to advance the web from manual engagement, manually operated means connected to said latch lever for moving said latch lever against the tension of said resilient means and to said disengaged position of the same immediately before manual withdrawal of the web, limiting means to prevent continual rotation of the feed roller while said manually operated means is held to maintain the latch lever in its released position, said limiting means being carried by the latch lever to engage said arm while said manually operated means is held in the latch lever releasing position of the same thereby preventing continual rotation of said feed roller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,322,531 Maltby et al June 22, 1943 2,380,644 Grondona July 31, 1945 2,592,786 Birr Apr. 15, 1952 2,608,356 McDonald Aug. 26, 1952 

